Transition metal dithiolene complexes and their selenium and tellurium analogs have been extensively studied. Reviews of work in this area include, for example, U. T. Mueller-Westerhoff and B. Vance, “Dithiolenes and Related Species”, Chapter 16.5 in G. Wilkinson, Ed. “Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry”, Pergamon Press, 1987. Some of these complexes are of interest for their oxidation-reduction properties, as well as their ability to efficiently absorb near infrared radiation and thermally dissipate the absorbed energy.
In order to covalently bind a metal dithiolene complex to another molecule, it would be desirable to begin with a metal dithiolene complexes having a reactive functional group. In practice, however, it has been difficult to prepare such complexes because the formation and/or presence of the functional groups has interfered with metal complexation by the dithiolene ligand. There therefore remains a need for functionalized metal dithiolene complexes.